New constraints on the Earth's inner core anisotropy from seismic body waves

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We live in a decade of unprecedented quantity and quality of seismic data, which are easily accessible online. Although the quality of seismic records is improving constantly, there are still vast amounts of unanalysed seismic waveforms, which might hold a key to deciphering unresolved geophysical puzzles. One such puzzle is the inner core structure.

The inner core was discovered in 1936, and inner core anisotropy (directional dependence of elastic properties) was hypothesised fifty years later, to explain anomalous travel times of core-sensitive seismic waves. Some recent results suggest the existence of "innermost inner core". However, inadequate spatial sampling of the central inner core by seismic waves makes further advances on this topic very challenging.

This project will focus on finding new ways of sampling the centre of the Earth and interpreting the results in the context of our planet's dynamics and evolution. Interested students with a physics or maths background are invited to contact the supervisor directly at hrvoje@rses.anu.edu.au to discuss possibilities.